S.J. TUCKER: Haphazard

S.J. Tucker

Haphazard

© 2004 S.J. Tucker (827378000520)

Mind-bending acoustic reality for all. S. J. Tucker gives New Folk an edge with a voice that soars, guitar that sings, and strong songcrafting.

notes

The original version of Haphazard (with a black cover) is out of print. It has been reprinted with new artwork and is available here:

<a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/sjtucker3">http://cdbaby.com/cd/sjtucker3</a>

S. J. TUCKER is an independent singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fire artist--a truly compelling performer whose strong guitar work, enormous voice and wealth of talent belie her small stature. Named Queen of the Bards by music industry professionals, S. J. is based in Memphis, TN, and tours the USA solo and as leader of the band, Skinny White Chick. Since her exit from accursed 'dayjobhood' in 2004, S. J. has released four full-length albums containing all-original material, two studio and two live, on nothing but her own steam, and has run rings around her own U. S. touring circuit more than once. This album, Haphazard, is the first full-length studio release in her catalogue!

More than a Renaissance woman, S. J. Tucker has spent her entire life evolving as a storyteller, composer, performer, and technician. Raised by an artistic family in the Mississippi Delta, Tucker began pursuing her dreams of performing her music at age sixteen and, after obtaining a degree in Theatre, moved to Memphis, TN in 2001. Now a bassist, percussionist, poet, and actress as well as a successful, full-time touring and writing performer, S. J. strives to blaze a trail and wastes little time in causing a stir with her inherent professionalism and ever-present ability to stop traffic the moment she begins to sing and play. All along, she makes her way a little bit differently than most big-name troubadours. Fully committed to her audience instead of her image, Tucker has no issue performing for Pagan Pride Day, Gay & Lesbian community centers, and Episcopal schools all in the same week, and she has.

The definition of dynamite in a small package, Tucker gathers fans from all age groups and from many demographics. S. J.'s dedication to her music and her reputation for giving everything she’s got in her live shows increases her loyal following each day, even though Tucker’s brand of bombast comes in a very well-contained and subtle form. Expect hardy musical cuisine, primal energy, and melodies that weave into the mind and heart like knot work: Tucker will make you think, laugh, dance, and be still by giving you songs to sink your teeth into. The gift of her mind-bending acoustic reality will haunt you sweetly through your day and enrich your life experience. S. J. Tucker, “the maddest hatter on the bardic path,” (St. Louis Social Circle) will stay in your memory in her guise as Skinny White Chick, for what you see is what you get--and what you hear is undeniably powerful.

For more information, please visit S. J.'s website:
http://www.skinnywhitechick.com

PURCHASE S. J.'S OTHER ALBUMS HERE ON CDBABY!
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sjtucker2 - the new studio album, Tangles
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tuckersj - the brand new live album!

reviews

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  • My friend sooj
    author: Greg Pawlak

    I met sue in Memphis and was fortunate enough to hear her live at a record store and then again at a special performance in somebody's house and I have been fascinated by her music, and her songwriting skills. some of the songs are dark but her ability to tell a story in such a poetic way and the simple guitar melodies paint such a beautiful picture on this album. My favorite song to this day is Follow Me Down. I play it all the time! Great job Sue DJ Ravenwolf www.cayaradio.com

  • Can't stop listening...
    author: Josie

    ... I keep humming the tunes and so many of them are my favorites now. You really can't go wrong getting this CD unless you only like metal or something. Lovely vocals, lot's of interesting lyrics (like: 'read between the little black lines' in Tatoo Girl).

  • Great Work of Art
    author: Brian E. Moore

    Loved the songs, track 9 about Mommy Dragon/Trudy.. Great work I will pay more attention in the coming months for a tour date in and around Seattle.. moorebr@stennis.navy.mil

  • Great CD
    author: Drac

    Great CD from a great musician. The songs flow well and the music isnt all genres. I suggest it for anyone who likes this Genre of music.

  • Haphazard S. J. Tucker Independent Release
    author: Phil Brucato for New Witch

    Haphazard S.J. Tucker Independent Release The lone guitar troubadour is one of American’s most potent yet underrated archetypes. From Bob Dylan to ani difranco, you can count on this figure to deliver truth in a handful of notes. Well, there’s a newcomer to the six-string pantheon: S.J. “Sooj” Tucker. And if her album Haphazard is any indication, this “skinny white chick” is gonna be remembered. I ran across Sooj at the Faerieworlds festival [in Oregon], in the company of Sue and Chris from Gaia Consort. She handed me a mini-CD. We got to talking. Then I heard her sing. Holy shit! This woman has SERIOUS pipes. Amazing skills. Soulful presence. By festival’s end, I’d gotten a copy of Haphazard. I recommend you do the same. Sooj is the Real Deal. Not since I first heard Dar Williams have I been as taken from the word “go” by an acoustic artist. She’s got Dar’s sardonic sincerity coupled with difranco’s passion, Janis Ian’s vocal chops, and the deft guitar hands of Emily Saylers. Her lyrics swell up from the underworld where so many artists venture but few truly understand. So young, and yet so bloody old! She can span Maiden, Mother and Crone in a single song, then spin them all together by the next. Though rooted in streetwise sensibility, Tucker’s lyrics evoke magic. “I keep shifting into Dragon at the most improper times,” she sings in “Heart Beat,” and that Dragon skims across her music, breathing fire on what might become clichés for a lesser artist. Tucker is quite Pagan, too; “In the House of Mama Dragon” pays sly homage to her apparent mentor, while “Heart Beat” portrays a rite that becomes epiphany. Faerie glamour and faerie-tale characters weave throughout this album, casting fabulous light across the usual cast of rotten boyfriends, tattooed girlfriends and other sundry crises. Yet despite these mystical overtones, Haphazard never gets cheesy. Its magic is folkish without becoming filkish. Wit and raw emotion keep this gem burning. “Stickit” shreds a crappy partner — beautifully; “Crystal Cave” evokes both Merlin and Inanna; “Mummy Medusa” performs myth-reinvention in the Angela Carter vein, while “Eulogy Song” both mocks and treasures Darkwave youth. Honestly, this album doesn’t have a weak spot. The production is sparse but clean; the instrumentation (nearly all of it by Tucker) is transcendent. The intro to “Follow Me Down” is one of the most haunting pieces of guitarwork I have ever heard. Each song stands on its own. There is no filler here. Yes, it’s guitar-folk in the troubadour tradition, but Gods it’s staggering. Like the archetype she embodies, Sooj Tucker is touring the States in support of her music. Even if you’re not a fan of acoustic folk, I urge you to track her down. Haphazard deserves to be part of your music collection, and Tucker deserves all the attention she can get. 4 ½ Broomsticks PHIL BRUCATO

  • S. J. Tucker, July 30th 2004
    author: Mia Nutick - Green Man Review

    ...We were prepared to sit through the standard amateurish croaking while we drank our beer and ate our meals and waited for the real entertainment to begin. When a beautiful pixie in a particolored fool's hat took the stage, guitar in hand, we barely gave her a glance. Then she started to sing. She is S.J. "Sooj" Tucker, a singer/songwriter from Memphis with talent for lyrics, a mastery of the guitar, and a big bluesy voice that took all of 3 seconds to take control of the crowd. In a verse she had my full attention; by the end of her first song I was in awe; by the end of her set I was an unashamed fangirl. Tucker has a voice in a million -- powerful, hypnotic, untamed and yet utterly controlled. She sings from the gut, but hers is a trained instrument. We were enchanted by Ms. Tucker's songwriting ability; her entire performance consisted of originals, all found on her new CD Haphazard. "Mummy Medusa" is a tale of the consequences when Medusa and Rapunzel fall for the same person; "In the House of Mama Dragon" celebrates the life of Trudy Herring of the Summerland Grove [Pagan Church]; "Tattoo Grrl" is her "humble salute to the lesbian tendencies in all straight grrls". She's an amazing, powerful performer who I hope to see again and again...and I've no doubt that someday I'll have to pay a small fortune for tickets if I don't want to end up in the nosebleed seats.

  • enjoyed lryics and emotion in the songs, reminded me of Lrya Nero that I enjoyed
    author: Wendell P. wilkes
  • Excellent guitar playing and beautiful lyrics
    author: PJS

    If you want something different with strong rhythm and solid vocal lead, look no farther. Skinny White Chick delivers in a variety of ways. Starting with the surprising (to those who're used to hearing her with a guitar) acappella performance that sets the tone, letting the listener know you're in for a variety show. After that she varies from strong power rhythm to softer more laid back tunes. Overall a fantastic effort for a first professoinal grade cd and worth a spin in the player to anyone who enjoys acoustic guided tunes.

  • Music to restore your faith in humanity.
    author: Ira Roth

    The rules that I have been asked to follow in writing this review are deceptively simple: "Please keep it short, and about this CD, not the artist in general." I will certainly comply to the best of my ability, but the task set before me is a difficult one. When one encounters an album filled with music of such sublime beauty that it could fairly be described as life-changing, it is difficult to “keep it short” in praising it, and when one encounters a songstress of such formidable skill and power that she seems to transcend humanity, it is difficult to discuss the art without also discussing the artist, as they are so intrinsically linked. SJ Tucker is a fast-rising star in the Memphis area and beyond who has been lifting the spirits and warming the hearts of her many fans for many years. Now her first (and certainly not last) full-length professional recording has been unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. Haphazard is a genre-defying collection of soulful and haunting songs that will enchant anyone who hears it. The tracks of this CD run the gamut from inspirational to energetic to relaxing to amusing to soul-chilling, with every emotion in-between being evoked at some point during a 44-minute journey that will leave the listener both exhausted and electrified. Throughout, SJ Tucker uses her angelic vocal skills and mastery of the guitar to craft melodies that either crackle with savage energy or serenely plumb the depths of the mind and the human experience. This is the music of Haphazard; this is the power Ms. Tucker wields. Does SJ's music give us a glimpse of the true nature of the human spirit? If it does, then we’re in very good shape indeed.

  • The first of many!
    author: She-Who-Will-NOT-Be-Disputed

    This cd is the first stepping stone on her long path of fabulous- nothing better than a cheeky glittergrrl and a mad guitar. The next generation of music will pay homage to her!

  • Zizzing All Over
    author: the sexxxy llammmma

    Overall, an amazingly good album--tough to pick a favorite song. Cross Section is an interesting a capella challenge to the listener at the beginning of a disc. Face Down is a gorgeous piece of work--entrancing melody, and the drum line adds a lot to the song. Crystal Cave has nice imagery, a good melody, truly nifty chord changes and harmonic twists. Stickit: wow! what a good song! A fun and unexpected surprise. Very OufRange-era Ani, but again the vocals and the lyrics have a definite SJ-ness to them. I *love* Mummy Medusa: haunting harmonies with nice resolutions. Follow Me Down is more gorgeousness of word, melody and guitar, with a heart-rending intro. S. J.'s underlying guitar work is so beautiful that I think it deserves some space to itself. Tattoo Grrl - very nice; i like everything about it, especially texture and rhythm. Heart Beat is a beautiful and complicated song that I don't think I've completely absorbed yet. It's got lots of neat stuff going on; mini-symphony is right! Mama Dragon is just plain fun; but then right in the middle of a kind-of-silly song it has some really stirring bits. Eulogy Song: just can't get enough--a nice recording with good clear vocals, and really strong guitar. Fantastic job! Listening to the disc, i'm zizzing all over.

  • Praise from the Memphis Press--three and a half out of four stars!
    author: Bill Ellis The Commercial Appeal: Red Hot in Memphis

    With a Web site dubbed http://www.skinnywhitechick.com, you expect something a little different from local modern day folkie S. J. Tucker, and on her new album, Haphazard, you get it. First off, she can honestly sing like Joni Mitchell, no lie. With a swirl of acoustic strumming to back her, Tucker lets her most important instrument shine, that rich, sophisticated soprano voice of hers, one that would have landed such impressivel originals as "Face-down" and "Heart Beat" on Blue back in 1971. Other songs suggest Laura Love crossed with Ani DiFranco, both good influences and atypical of your usual Memphis singer-songwriter. More important, Tucker wrote all the material here, and that's the main reason to talk about this gifted newcomer--not that a song such as "Follow Me Down" recalls Mitchell so much as it impresses by being absolutely gorgeous. Keep an ear to this talent, whose disc is the latest release on upstart Young Ave. Records.

  • A voice strong as cider and sweet as honey....
    author: Cameron Mann

    The CD is a journey. It starts off slowly with an acapella number showing off SJ's vocal dynamics. The rest of the album trades off fast, rhythmic tracks for slower pensive ones - crescendo and decrescndo. Listen actively for her lyrics which always tell a story or listen passively if you need some pretty music to color the background of whatever you are doing. She is a little Joni, a little Ani, and a lot just herself. I highly recommend this album particularly to those who love folk music.

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